Updated: October 14, 2020 7:48:05 am
Ramani had made allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment against Akbar, who sued her and resigned from the Union Council of Ministers.
AFTER two years of hearing a criminal defamation case brought by former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs MJ Akbar against journalist Priya Ramani, a Delhi court said on Tuesday that it can no longer hear the matter. He said this was not a case against an MP or MLA – it was a case brought by an MP – and must be transferred to a court of competent jurisdiction according to an order of the Supreme Court.
Ramani had made accusations of sexual misconduct and harassment against Akbar, who sued her and resigned from the Union Council of Ministers.
The defamation case was in its last stages after the two parties had concluded. final arguments. At the last hearing on September 19, Akbar’s lawyer, Geeta Luthra, had requested the court’s permission to rebut Ramani’s lawyer Rebecca John’s closing arguments and was given two days to conclude.
On Tuesday, as Luthra began to present his closing arguments, Metropolitan Chief Additional Magistrate Vishal Pahuja said: “There have been instructions from the Supreme Court … This case has to be presented to the district and session judge for further instructions. This court will deal with cases against MP / MLA. “
“In terms of the order approved by the Honorable Supreme Court of India in a written petition entitled ‘Ashwani Kumar Upadhyay v. UOI and Anr ‘, special courts were created for the trial of cases against a member of parliament / member of the legislative assembly. In view of the aforementioned judgment, the Honorable Tribunal vide circular … dated February 23, 2018 appointed the special courts to try the cases against MP / MLA. As the present case has not been brought against MP / MLA, therefore, it cannot be tried by this court and must be transferred to the Court of Competent Jurisdiction. Let this matter go to the Chief Session and District Judge court (Rouse Avenue District Courts) by 10/14/2020 at 10:30 AM. M. For more appropriate warrants, ”the court said in its order.
The case was known since October 2018 by the then ACMM Samar Vishal, who presided over the process until October 25, 2019 when the chief interrogation of the defense witnesses began. He was later transferred, after which ACMM Pahuja began to hear the matter as of November 21, 2019, when the questioning of Ramani had come to an end. He heard the closing arguments of both parties that lasted for several days.
The defamation case was in its final stages after the two sides concluded final arguments. At the last hearing on September 19, Akbar’s attorney, Geeta Luthra, had requested the court’s permission to rebut the closing arguments of Ramani’s attorney, Rebecca John, and was given two days to conclude.
In reaction to the court’s decision, Ramani’s attorney, Rebecca John, told The Indian Express: “We will have to restart final arguments if the case is to be transferred to a new court. In fairness to the system I’m a part of, transfers happen all the time. Just because you argued, there is no guarantee that the same court will enter the judgment. The Superior Court Administrative Instructions are very clear that unless you have reserved the case for trial, we will not return it to the same court if it is transferred. In this case, the sentence was not reserved. But this is frustrating, I spent five days on my closing arguments and I cannot repeat the same effort again. We put our heart and soul into the arguments. “
Akbar’s lawyer, Geeta Luthra, said: “We have to conclude and respond to the defense raised by the defendant / defendant and, in all likelihood, it was reaching the end. So now we have to wait for what the district judge says. “
The case was heard by a special MP / MLA court in Rouse Avenue District Court. The first administrative order on the creation of a specific MP / MLA Court was issued by the Superior Court in February 2018. This was in compliance with the Supreme Court’s order to establish special courts in each state to try cases against MP / MLA .
Initially, there were two dedicated MP / MLA courts on the Rouse Avenue district court facility. Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court established four more courts in the Rouse Avenue District Court to deal with cases against MPs and judicial deputies.
In addition to Special Judge (PC Law) Ajay Kumar Kuhar and ACMM Pahuja, Special Judges (PC Law) Vikas Dhull and Geetanjali Goel, along with Metropolitan Additional Chief Magistrates Harvinder Singh and Dhirendra Rana, will also handle cases against the MP / MLA.
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